Establishing standards for the provision of brain injury services

Standards and an assessment process were developed to evaluate the quality of traumatic brain injury services in New South Wales, Australia, by The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards. The set of standards developed addressed the provision of rehabilitation services, the management of human and physical resources, education, research and quality assurance. An educational peer review model was used to conduct on-site assessments of the 14 public sector Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program Services. Data collected on the level of compliance with the standards showed a high rate of conformity, particularly in the areas of patient management, the provision of outpatient and community services, and staff development. Feedback from the participating services indicated that the assessment process was regarded as a useful tool for identifying problems and improving services. The standards and assessment process were shown to be an effective tool for evaluating the quality of services provided, and repeat assessments will enable the ongoing development of services to be monitored.